Saturday, January 30, 2010

Happiness Is My Middle Name

So Poni has arrived and it is like two animals from the Enchanted Forest of Rainbows have been reunited. My house is filled with wilted flowers, organic chocolate candy wrappers, and celebrity gossip magazines he brought me from the States. I have been carting him around on my scooter, his cute head bobbling around behind me in the giant helmet I had waiting for him, singing songs to me and telling me stories. He doesn't back seat drive despite the throbbing traffic, which I much appreciate. He can keep up with my coconut habit as well, which I also appreciate. Nearly every time we're sucking one down, we remind each other that the milk is very much like human blood and the meat much like breast milk. This makes both of us feel very healthy.

His clean clothes got on the plane he missed between Chicago and London, so he was forced to wear all the presents I had waiting for him. Luckily enough, he likes the lungis and the kurtas a bunch and they of course look quite smashing on him, so we went out together and bought a bunch more. We are both appreciating how menswear in India so often includes pink and hearts and metrosexual themes.

While signing Poni up for Asanas today, Kanchen told me that the Guruji mentioned me to her "...that one short girl...yes, yes..." She told me he basically said I was a very good student. This is making me glow almost as much as having Poni here does. At the ripened age of eighty four, I have noticed he doesn't put much effort into remembering his students too clearly, so the fact that he has praise specifically for me makes me feel like I have been blessed by Angels, or Santa, or Oprah. Only way better.

I have introduced Poni to Indra Cafe, my favorite coconut men, Daisy the cow who comes to eat our food scraps every day, and "medieval princess showers" (my term for the bucket bath by candle-light). He has brought smiles and magic and thank-God-they-allow-this hand holding, top shelf tequila and bourbon, and an entire duffel bag full of Madison Market treats. I have also introduced him to Joe, Ness, Dave, and Nok, amongst a handful of the rest of the Western Yogi population, and he makes them laugh and smile as well. "I have never seen Wren's face this happy," Joe said.